The probable life of Fereby/Feribe Eddins Hendricks

Her name has been written a million ways:

Fereby...Faribe...Feribe...Pheribe..Pharibe...Faribay..Feribah...Cleopatra...OK, OK—not the last one...

Like her name, there are a million ways her life may have played out. This blog entry is my theory of how her life did play out, based on facts. I don't claim that every conjecture is correct. I do claim that the facts and sources are true as stated. 

For simplicity, let's use "Fereby" throughout to denote this specific woman.

We know that Fereby existed because of an ad that Zilpha Edins ran in the South Carolina State Gazette on November 22, 1828. Fereby was an heir, probably a daughter, of John and Zilpha Edins of Orangeburg District, later Lexington Dist, SC. Fereby was probably the second daughter and fourth child* of John and Zilpha Edins/Eddins of Orangeburg, later Lexington District, SC. (Zilpha may have been her step-mother.) An image of the ad is located at GenealogyBank.com, or you can simply check out my earlier blog entry " Zilpha Edins's ad" here at ALRoots2.blogspot.com.

The ad lists Fereby as "Fereby, wife of Samuel Hendrix." The ad further says that "Samuferb" (or "Ferbuel"; I like the former) lives out of state as of that date, i.e., November 22, 1828.

FamilySearch.org says that Lexington Distict, SC, legal records were burned in February 1865. Darn. So no marriage records for Samuferb. No help from there. Darn.

But there's hope:

In the 1810 U.S. Census for SC, Samuel Hendrix is living in Lexington County. In the household are three males under 10 (born between 1800 & 1810), one male 26 - 45 (Samuel, born 1765 - 1784 ), and one female 16 - 26 (born 1784 - 1794, probably Fereby). Neighbors include Michael Oswalt, Elizabeth Hendricks, Peter Hendrix, Jacob Lites, Martin Frie, Strickland, and the Widow Edins a few pages over. All of these surnames are found around the Eddins family in later censuses. 

http://search.ancestry.com/Browse/view.aspx?dbid=7613&path=South+Carolina.Lexington.Not+Stated.24&sid=&gskw=Widow+Edins 

The next site I looked at was the BLM/GLO. Fereby's sibs either stayed in SC or settled in GA (Blakely, Ann Obedience, William D.) or AL (James A.) So I looked at "Samuel Hendricks/Hendrix/Hendrex/Hendrecks" in GA and AL. No one of that name bought land in Georgia. However, in 1824 Samuel Hendricks bought land in Tuscaloosa County, AL. Hooray!!!

http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/default.aspx?accession=AL0700__.226&docClass=STA&sid=uiqmbmei.sda#patentDetailsTabIndex=1

The 1820 Alabama State Census does not include Tuscaloosa County, and neither does the 1820 U.S. Federal Census. The next place to look is the 1830 U.S. Census. Lo and behold:

In the 1830 U.S. Census for AL, Samuel Hendrix lives in Tuscaloosa. In the household there are four males: one 15 - 20, one 20 - 30, one 30 - 40; oldest 50 - 60 (b. 1770 - 1780) is Samuel. Three females: one 10 - 15, one 15 - 20, one 40 - 50 (presumably Fereby, born 1780 - 1790). Neighbors: Benjamn Oswald, Lewis Hendricks, Jno Eds, Abraham Harrell, Nimrod Hendricks. Also Ashford, Pumphrey, Rolling, Ab Green, Gray, Harkness, Lawrence, Moses, Seals, Arnold, W. Pruitt, Ray, King, Thomas Newman, Herring, Keneda, Riggins, Burchfield, Felix Oswalt.

This entry meets our criteria on several key points: name of the husband (Samuel Hendrix); out of SC (in AL); near another Eddins (James A. in Wilcox County); and near neighbors with names from Lexington District (Oswald, Hendrix); oldest female born before death of John Edins in 1795. 

Another point: assuming the oldest female is Fereby, her birth year would be between 1784 (1810 Census) and 1790 (1840 Census).

Next:

In the 1840 U.S. Census for AL Samuel Hendrick lives in Tuscaloosa County. In the household are one male five to ten, one male 30 - 40, one female under five, one female five to 10, and one female 20 - 30. Obviously not the "Ferbuel" Samuel, who would have been 60 - 70. 

http://search.ancestry.com/iexec?htx=View&r=an&dbid=8057&iid=4411216_01036&fn=Samuel&ln=Hendrick&st=d&ssrc=&pid=1374192

However—and here's the exciting part—

Wait for it—

On the same page but up 23 names is—TAH DAHHHHHHH!!!!—Fenby Hendrick.

Or at least, that's how Ancestry has the name listed. If you zoom in on the name, it's obviously "Fereby Hendrick!!!!!!!!!"

More importantly, in the household are one female five to 10 and one elderly female 60 -70. This female would have been born from 1770 - 1780. Yes, the dates are a little early for her probable birthday, which is more likely 1784 - 1790. But that's not a huge issue. Census takers made mistakes. People didn't know their exact birthdates. And, really, GEEZZZZ....it's an elderly female in the right place at the rightish age at the right time with the right name!!!!!

So now we are left with the impression that this person is most likely Fereby Eddins Hendricks. If husband Samuel died between 1830 and 1840, then the Samuel Hendrick listed in the 1840 Census is probably her son Samuel, who would have been born between 1800 and 1810, and would have been one of the three males in the household in the 1810 U.S. Census for SC. 

Sadly there are no Fereby or Samuel Hendricks/Hendrix/other variations in the 1850 U.S. Census for AL or, indeed, in any other state. There's nothing for either of them at Findagrave.com in Alabama. The 1850 Mortality Schedule for Tuscaloosa lists Eddie Hendrix, 70, born SC, died July 1849, but since the Samuel of Ferbuel died before the 1840 Census, this can't be him. No other variations of the name at all in the 1850 AL Mortality Schedule.

So the likelihood is that they died or moved. Probably died, as I can't find any trace of them anywhere in the 1850 Census.

Where else could I check? Aha! The AL marriage index 1816 - 1957 at FamilySearch.org. Bingo!


Limiting the search to marriages 1816 - 1850 and the surname to "Hendri*" provides 34 results! Several of the results jump out:

• Samuel Hendrix, Jr., (probably son) who married Abigail Grizzle

• Simon Hendrix, (maybe son) who married Elezebeth Ann Grezzel (Simon/Simeon is a Hendrix family name)

and—tah dah!!

• Pheribe (Fereby! Fereby!) Hendricks, (probable daughter) who married Seth Bowen

If you look in the 1850 U.S. Census for AL, you'll see Seth and Pheriba Bowin in Tuscaloosa County. She was born about 1811 in SC, which fits perfectly with the facts from the 1810 U.S. Census for SC; Pheriba would be the female 15 - 20 in Samuel Sr.'s household. 

So there you have it. Lots of circumstantial facts outlining the life of Fereby Eddins Hendrix, but no smoking gun. I think it's her. There may be definitive evidence out there. If it's there, I'll find it. 

Fereby, I'll be looking for ya. 

* Zilpha's ad gives new information that may rearrange the order of children. At the moment that's where I think Fereby belongs, but the issue bears further scrutiny. Oh, boy!